| Department: Institutional Effectiveness |
| Effective Date: 2/1/2023 |
| Revised Date: |
| Cabinet Approval Date: 2/1/2023 |
| Next Review Date: 2/1/2026 |
| Policy: |
| Responsible Cabinet Member: AVPIEI |
| Approved By: Sheila Quirk-Bailey |
Operational Standard/Purpose
The purpose of this standard is to support:
- Effective management of cross-functional projects
- Consistent application of change management strategies to support employees through changes
- The overall success of change initiatives in terms of actual adoption, usage, and sustainment
Scope/Applicability
This standard applies to all cross-functional projects across the College. According to the PMBOK Guide(Project Management Body of Knowledge Guide), a project is defined as a “temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result.
Projects deliver one or more of the following:
- A unique product that can be a component of another item, an enhancement or correction to an existing item, or a new end item in itself
- A unique service or a capability to perform a service
- A unique result, such as an outcome or document
- A unique combination of one or more products, services, or results
Projects drive a change from a current state to a future state that will:
- Meet regulatory, legal, or social requirements
- Satisfy stakeholder needs or requests
- Create, improve, or fix products, processes, or services
- Implement new, or change existing, business or technological strategies
Source: PMBOK® Guide – Sixth edition (PMI, 2017)
Although projects can technically involve a single individual, team, or department, this SOP applies only to cross-functional projects—those that involve stakeholders or require input from two or more departments.
Examples of activities that would not qualify as cross-functional projects include:
- Initiatives that can be completed with input from a single department
- Work that is repeated at a regular interval with no defined end date (e.g., ICCB reporting)
- Research or investigation with no specific deliverables or measurable impacts ( Research may eventually lead to the development of a project, but is not a project in and of itself)
Procedures
(Please reference the “ICC Project and Change Management Process” flow chart for additional reference to the process outlined below.)
Phase 1: Project Initiation
(Note: If this project is part of the Institutional Operational Plan, this phase has already been done and the process can begin at Phase 2.)
An Idea/Request/Need is identified and vetted. If there is general support for Investigation, the proposer/initiator shall submit the Project Initiation form. During this phase, the Cabinet member will evaluate the proposal according to the following criteria:
- Is the idea valid?
- Is it a project? (Is it a temporary endeavor that will lead to a unique product, service, or result?)
- Is it cross-functional?
- Does it align with ICC’s mission, values, and strategic goals?
If the proposal does not meet the criteria, the Cabinet member may
- Reject the proposal
- Postpone the proposal until it can be prioritized
- Request revision of the proposal
- Assign the work to a department if not cross-functional
Proposals that meet the criteria will move to Phase 2.
Phase 2: Investigation and Charter Development
Once the proposal is approved, the initiator shall work with the Cabinet member to:
- Identify and convene stakeholders to validate support for the proposal
- Identify a Cabinet sponsor and a project manager
- Assemble and convene a project team
Once assemble
d, the project team shall be responsible for completing the Investigate stage of the IDID model. The Investigate stage is designed to define WHY a change is needed and to help the team complete environmental scanning, needs assessment, feasibility assessment, research, and best practices review. This stage might involve:
- Literature review
- Stakeholder analysis
- Data evaluation
- Conference/workshop/webinar attendance
- Conversations with other institutions
Specific change management activities1 should also be completed during the Investigate stage:
As the team completes the Investigate stage, the project manager should begin drafting the Project Charter. The project charter template is located on The Hub.
See the table below for project charter elements, descriptions, and the IDID stage where each element should be completed.
| Charter Element |
Description |
IDID Stage |
| Project Name |
What is the project |
Investigate |
| Submission Dates |
Date when the charter is updated for each state |
Design, implement, and Deliver |
| Project Team |
Team Members, roles, and Titles |
Investigate (updated as needed) |
| Executive Summary |
Narrative summary of all charter elements |
Investigate (updated as needed) |
| Purpose |
Why are we doing this? Why now? What if we don’t? |
Investigate |
| Project Particulars |
Which specific processes, tools, systems, job duties, org structures, etc. will be changing? |
Investigate(finalized at Design) |
| People/ Impacted Employees |
Which employee groups will need to do their jobs differently for the project to be successful? |
Investigate(finalized at Design) |
| Other Stakeholders |
What other internal or external stakeholders need to be consulted or informed? |
Investigate(finalized at Design) |
| Change Management Activities |
When will important change management activities be completed? |
Investigate(updated each stage) |
| Anticipated Project Outcomes |
SMART outcomes(Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound); Outcomes are not project steps, milestones, or deliverables. |
Design |
| Success Metrics and Data Needs |
How will you know anticipated outcomes have been achieved? What data or information will be needed? |
Design |
| Project Timeline |
Description of each project activity, date to be completed, and deliverables if applicable. Include important meetings, updates, communications, training, etc. |
Design (updated as needed) |
| Budget |
How much money will the project need and for what purposes? |
Any stage where funds will be needed |
| Scope Considerations |
Optional section to define what the project will do and won’t do. |
Any stage where needed |
| Risk Considerations |
Optional section to address risks or threats. |
Any stage where needed |
| Other Considerations |
Optional section for any other relevant information. |
Any stage where needed |
Phase 3: Checkpoint and Design
As the Investigate stage wraps up and the initial project charter is completed, the team shall complete the Investigate-to-Design Proposal, which will be routed to the project sponsor. The project sponsor will review the proposal with the Executive Cabinet for approval. The project manager or other team members may be invited to speak before Cabinet to answer questions.
The Executive Cabinet will evaluate the proposal according to the following criteria:
- Does the proposal include a clear purpose that aligns with the institutional mission, values, and strategic goals?
- Does the project team have sufficient and representative membership including the likely process owner?
- Was the investigation sufficient, valuable, and relevant? Were the lessons learned aligned with current research, best practices, as well as student and community needs?
- Is the project expected to positively impact student success?
- Is there institutional capacity to complete the project on the proposed timeline?
Depending on the answers to the questions above, the Cabinet may:
- Approve the proposal to move to the Design stage
- Request revision of the proposal
- Postpone the project until it can be prioritized
- Cancel the project
If the proposal is approved, the project will move to the Design stage. In the Design stage, the team will define WHAT will be changing and HOW the project will be implemented. This stage involves:
- Defining anticipated outcomes and success metrics including adoption and usage goals
- Refining/finalizing the Particulars of the change including
- Clearly defining what will be changing
- Refining/finalizing the People/Impacted Employees
- Adding representatives from the most impacted employee groups to the team
- Developing a detailed step-by-step implementation plan including:
- Timeline
- Deliverables
- Resource and budget needs
Specific change management activities1 should also be completed during the Investigate stage:
- Refining the 4 Ps
- Conducting the Impacted Groups Analysis
- Defining adoption and usage goals
- Completing the Risk Assessment
- Completing the Role Roster
- Populating the change management blueprint with activities designed to:
- Build and support the sponsor coalition
- Develop the ability of people managers to support their impacted employees
- Prepare key communications
- Plan for training
- Completing the second PCT
During the Design phase, the change management practitioner shall support the sponsor in delivering key Awareness and Desire messages to specific audiences in multiple formats with a particular focus on the people managers in the impacted employee groups. Evidence of this work shall be submitted as part of the Design-to-Implement proposal.
Phase 4: Checkpoint and Implement
As the Design stage wraps up, the team shall update the project charter and complete the Design-to-Implement Proposal, which will be routed to the project sponsor. The project sponsor will review the proposal with the Executive Cabinet for approval. The project manager or other team members may be invited to speak before Cabinet to answer questions.
The Executive Cabinet will evaluate the proposal according to the following criteria:
- Does the proposal include a clear purpose that aligns with the institutional mission, values, and strategic goals?
- To what degree will the project impact student success?
- Have anticipated outcomes and success metrics been defined and approved by IR? If so, are they SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound)?
- Have adoption and usage goals been set? Are they measurable and realistic?
- Have change management activities been completed and change management plans developed?
- Has a detailed project timeline with clear activities, realistic due dates, and key deliverables been developed? Is there institutional capacity to complete the project on the proposed timeline?
- Is the College able to meet the identified resource and budget needs?
Depending on the answers to the questions above, the Cabinet may:
- Approve the proposal to move to the Implement stage
- Request revision of the proposal
- Postpone the project until it can be prioritized
- Cancel the project
If the proposal is approved, the project will move to the Implement stage. In the Implement stage, the team shall oversee the implementation, execute change management plans, evaluate whether anticipated outcomes were successfully achieved and whether adoption and usage goals have been met, troubleshoot challenges, and develop recommendations for scaling and sustaining the change. The team may also recommend adjustments or full re-design if the project is deemed unsuccessful.
This stage involves:
- Executing the plans
- Evaluating success
- Developing SOPs and other plans for sustainment
The team will be required to administer ADKAR assessments1 for all employee groups and demonstrate employees have reached Ability.
Phase 5: Checkpoint and Deliver
As the Implement stage wraps up, the team shall complete the Implement-to-Deliver Proposal, which will be routed to the project sponsor. The project sponsor will review the proposal with the Executive Cabinet for approval. The project manager or other team members may be invited to speak before Cabinet to answer questions.
The Executive Cabinet will evaluate the proposal according to the following criteria:
- Does the change continue to align with the institutional mission, values, and strategic goals?
- Is there a sufficient return on investment, particularly with respect to student success?
- Do the outcomes of the Implement stage support scaling the change?
- Are the likely process owner and their leadership (supervisor, Cabinet member) supportive of scaling the change and prepared to sustain it?
- Does the College have sufficient resources (human, fiscal, technological, etc.) to sustain the change?
Depending on the answers to the questions above, the Cabinet may:
- Approve the proposal to move to the Deliver stage
- Request revision of the proposal
- Return the project to the Investigate or Design stage
- Postpone the project until it can be prioritized
- Cancel the project
If the proposal is approved, the project will move to the Deliver stage. In the Deliver stage, the project manager and change management practitioner shall work with the process owner and their team to adopt the change at scale and troubleshoot issues.
Phase 6: Reinforce and Sustain
Once the project is scaled, the change management practitioner shall continue to be available to the process owner to continue reinforcing the change and address any remaining pockets of resistance.
Additional Provisions/Information
Please contact the Project and Change Management Strategist or the Associate Vice President of Institutional Effectiveness and Innovation with any questions or suggestions.
1 Change management practitioners are familiar with activities such as the 4 Ps, PCT, Impacted Groups Analysis, Risk Assessment, Role Roster, and ADKAR Assessment. Please contact the Project & Change Management Strategist for details or to be connected with a change management practitioner.